The Stone Courtyard
by ArtemisNakajima
Summary: Sebastian takes Ciel to a stone courtyard to eat his soul, but Sebastian discovers that maybe he his heart isn't as dead as he thought it was.


The pale, dusty stone courtyard that Sebastian Michaelis led Ciel to did nothing but make the young boy nervous. It was sparse, with white, cracked columns, and appeared to be part of an old building fallen into disrepair. Ciel's heartbeat raced in his chest as he took in the single bench at the center, small engraved scenes depicted along the sides and base of the structure. He turned to Sebastian, who looked solemnly back at him as they entered the stone building.

This was the end for Ciel Phantomhive.

"Will it hurt?" he asked, seating himself on the cold bench. He rubbed his hands over the cool stone, relishing the feel of it. He wanted to take in as much sensation as he could before Sebastian ended it all.

"It will a bit. I'll be gentle," he said, standing before Ciel with an unreadable expression on his face. It looked dark, sad; but also somehow angry. He seemed to be warring with himself, but Ciel was unsure what to do about it.

It wasn't like he had much time.

"I don't care how painful it is. The pain will show to me that I had a life worth living," Ciel negated, and Sebastian's eyes arched upwards in surprise. He looked down at the bench, smiling lightly.

Ciel had achieved everything he'd wanted to achieve. Those who'd hurt him were gone, his family was avenged. He'd saved more children from being hurt, no matter those that had been trapped in the mansion when it'd gone up in flames. He did regret doing that; he'd been so focused on destroying the place, and the people, that had tortured him that he'd ordered Sebastian to set the place on fire with those children still inside. However, he knew that those children wouldn't want to live with the traumatic memories that he'd had from his time there, so he figured that way he could keep them from that pain. It had been mostly a success.

But the fact that the most important person to him in the world, the man who had protected and stuck with him through thick and thin, was about to kill him; it struck that smile from his face in the blink of an eye.

He didn't want it to hurt. He wanted nothing more than for it to be painless, but he'd wanted to seem strong for Sebastian. He'd wanted the demon's lasting memory of him to be good. If he even chose to remember him at all.

"Ciel," started Sebastian, walking closer to him. He stood directly in front of Ciel, and the boy tilted his head back, avoiding eye contact. He laid it against the bench behind him, breathing deeply and clenching his fists at his sides. Sebastian knelt in front of him, a coy smile on his face, but Ciel could tell he was hiding something. The way his brows were still furrowed, and his knuckles were white; they hinted at some sort of internal conflict.

"Are you ready?" Sebastian asked, his voice a deadly calm. Ciel cringed.

He looked at the dark sky, at the stars peeking through the dense cloud cover. The way the vines peeked over the edges of the ruined structure they were positioned in. Then he looked at Sebastian, warmth flooding his chest when he made eye contact with the demon. He tried to hold in the tears from streaming down his face, but when he saw Sebastian's deep, red eyes, he couldn't hold them in anymore.

Ciel's lip trembled as the warm tears leaked from his eyes as he slammed his head back against the stone, clenching his eyes shut. His nails were digging into the palms of his hands, the soft flesh tearing beneath the sharp points that his nails had formed into. He breathed harshly, his chest spasming out.

Then he went still.

Something made him dizzy, his eyesight going fuzzy. He felt his body sag against the bench, and he wondered if maybe Sebastian had started. He tried desperately to keep his eyes open, but nothing was working.

Then he felt soft hands rub against his cheek, the touch light and kind. Through half lidded eyes, he saw Sebastian gently remove his eye patch. The soft smile on his face developed slightly as he saw Ciel's other eye, the contract mark having disappeared at this point. Ciel tried to speak through his drowsy lips, finally saying,

"Do it." It came out dark and almost indistinguishable, but Sebastian seemed to pick up on it.

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian's eyes changed into their deep, fiery magenta color, the marbled color in his irises swirling about with a sort of demonic beauty. He smiled slightly, reaching out and taking Ciel's chin in his hands before tilting it upwards. Ciel's eyes closed, his body unable to hold him up any longer. Sebastian looked at the young boy, his heart clenching.

Sebastian hadn't even known he'd had a heart until he'd met Ciel.

He leaned forwards, preparing to take what was rightfully his. Sebastian tried to ignore the way his body was trying to get him to pull away. To get him to leave the boy alone. He tried to force himself to continue, but the beauty of Ciel's face, set in a calm, serene expression, wasn't helping. He leaned forwards, getting within inches of Ciel's face, when suddenly his eyes cleared. The swirling red faded suddenly, replaced with a stone-solid red color. His lips parted, his eyebrows raising as well. What was going on with him?

Sebastian couldn't control himself. He just couldn't keep away from Ciel anymore.

Nor could he kill him.

Sebastian leaned forwards, watching Ciel's eyes open in surprise as his strength was restored. Sebastian ran the back of his hands against Ciel's cheek, grinning lightly. He watched Ciel smile slightly, still obviously confused, but it was a smile all the same. It made Sebastian's heartbeat speed up, and he muttered a curse under his breath before leaning in and kissing him.

The effect was instantaneous. Ciel's eyes went wide, his face flushing with color as Sebastian wrapped an arm around Ciel's shoulders and pulled him close. He could feel Ciel's shock, as the boy hadn't moved since he first connected their lips, but suddenly Ciel seemed to get over his utter surprise. He instead pressed himself farther against Sebastian, taking the demon's face in his hands as he kissed him passionately. Sebastian was now the one that was surprised; he hadn't even thought of the possibility that Ciel felt the same as he did.

Ciel pulled away all too soon, staring deep into Sebastian's eyes as he smiled.

"You... you didn't kill me," Ciel breathed in surprise. His eyes were wide, his hands still around Sebastian's ears. He looked happy; the bright, beautiful on his face making Sebastian smile lightly. He was normally good at concealing his feelings, but Ciel was able to completely tear his walls down just by looking at him. It was a fact which Sebastian wasn't sure if he liked or not; nevertheless, there was truly nothing he could do about it. The boy just mattered too much to him.

"I could never kill you. You mean the world to me," Sebastian said. He placed a hand over Ciel's holding it to the side of his face as he smiled.

"But... then what does this mean? Our... our contract, it's-"

"Been fulfilled," finished Sebastian, taking Ciel by surprise. His eyes widened, and he leaned forwards.

"How... how was it fulfilled?" asked Ciel, cocking an eyebrow.

"I helped you defeat your enemies, and in return..." He smiled at Ciel, pecking him on the lips.

"You taught me how to love." Ciel's face hadn't changed, but tears began to leak from his eyes.

"Really?" Sebastian closed his eyes and laughed elatedly.

"Yes. I truly mean it. I... I tried to tell myself that I would be able to take my reward, but you mean too much to me. I would give my life for you." Ciel pulled his free hand away from Sebastian's face, covering his mouth as his body wracked with sobs.

"I... thank you, Sebastian."

"No..." He pulled Ciel's hand away from his face, wiping away the boy's tears with his thumb.

"Thank YOU, Ciel." He stood, lifting the boy into his arms. For once, Ciel didn't object, laughing as Sebastian lifted him high into the air and carried him out of the ruined building. They walked all the way back to the Phantomhive manor in silence, the darkness around them like a comfortable blanket on a cold night.

Neither looked back once.


End file.
